The Sound of Magic (Ri Eul x Reader)

"How Much Do You Trust Me?"

A/N: Ya'll I just wanna say, this is probably one of my favorite chapters I've written for this book. I'm excited for yall to dig in. Let me know what you think!

And don't forget to VOTE!!

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It's been a few hours since you and Ayi came, and there's been no sign of Min-hyuk's other friend. You've heard from Ayi that his name is Ildeung, and they're in the same class. You hope you will get to meet him eventually.

Despite only having two people at his magic show, Min-hyuk has shown no lack of enthusiasm. It's comforting, watching Min-hyuk--or Ri-eul as he apparently goes by--put on a magic show. You can almost forget about the mildly disturbing news you just received from Ayi. Indeed, as you watch him perform trick after trick, you find that your anxiety about his possible involvement in a kidnapping is slowly slipping away. How could this man possibly be capable of something like that?? His eyes are shining with child-like excitement. Each time his tricks elicit a reaction from either of you, he smiles his mischievous smile.

But you find yourself thinking again... people can surprise you sometimes...

As you look sideways at Ayi, you can tell that she is enjoying the magic show too. You can see, as you watch her, that she genuinely cares for Min-hyuk as well. She seems to sense your gaze and she looks over at you briefly. As your eyes meet, you find that you can read her like a book. Though Min-hyuk--- no, Ri-eul---is her friend, she still has questions. You can tell that her worries about what kind of person he is are not going to go away anytime soon. Not unless she gets some answers.

This is enough to solidify your resolve. No matter how much you think he could be innocent, there's no getting around it. You need to question Min-hyuk after this, that way you and Ayi can have some much needed answers.

You hope you're conveying your resolve as you look at Ayi. An unspoken agreement passes between you, and she seems to comprehend your intentions. She knows you're determined to do what's necessary when you have the chance.

"Now," Ri-eul's voice drags you both back to the magic show, "for my final trick."

His focus has mostly been on Ayi, since she's learning magic from him, but his gaze flickers to you briefly and his smile gets a little wider. Your heart flutters as you make eye contact with him. Is it a trick of the light or does he wink at you?

He starts to perform his last trick, but you're not really paying attention. There's too much going through your head. As you watch absentmindedly, he does a little flourish, showing both you and Ayi that both of his hands are empty. You weren't paying enough attention to know what he just made disappear. Instead, you're thinking about him. The thought strikes you as you watch him perform his final trick that this really is his whole life: letting people experience magic. And he loves it. It's really all he cares about.

You're so absorbed in your thoughts that you don't even register that he's coming closer until he's standing directly in front of where you're sitting. You jump in surprise as you're dragged out of your thoughts. You quickly force a small smile, hoping he doesn't notice how zoned-out you just were. As you look up at him, it seems like he's unaware that you weren't paying attention. He has his hands shoved in his pockets and he's looking down at you with that familiar mysterious twinkle in his eye.

He suddenly leans down, putting his face mere inches away from yours. Wait. What is he doing? Is this part of his trick? You find yourself wishing you'd been paying attention. His butterfly necklace glistens as it slides out of his shirt, dangling around his neck. As you glance down at it briefly, you also can't avoid looking past it into the open V of his loose-fitting white shirt. Your heart beats an erratic rhythm against your ribcage as you catch a glimpse of the exposed skin of his chest. You can plainly see that he is sculpted underneath that shirt of his, and you're not sure if your brain can handle that information. You feel your cheeks burning as you quickly look back up to his face to distract yourself.